Sophie Petronin and two Italian hostages kidnapped in Mali return home after years

French aid worker Sophie Petronin, kidnapped in Mali in December 2016, was released after 1,380 days in captivity. As reported by the broadcaster “France 24”, the 70-year-old woman was released yesterday in the African country. Petronin was free with three other hostages from Mali and Italy. Last weekend, more than a hundred convicted or suspected jihadists were released in Mali as part of negotiations for the release of the last French hostage in the world, including Soumaila Cissé, a well-known politician in the national scope.

Relatives greeted Sophie Petronin as she descended from a plane at the Villacoublay military airport south-west of Paris, where she was met by the French president, Emmanuel Macron. Macron expressed happiness and relief at her release, thanked the Malian authorities and assured that the French military would continue its fight against terrorism and extremism in the west African region. Petronin headed a small Franco-Swiss NGO and was kidnapped on 24 December 2016 in Gao, in northern Mali by the Group in support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM). She appeared in several videos released in 2017 and 2018 by the GSIM very tired due to imprisonment, with an emaciated face and accused the French president, Emmanuel Macron, of having forgotten her.

The Italian priest Pier Luigi Maccalli, kidnapped in Niger in 2018, and Nicola Chiacchio were also released in Mali. Father Maccalli, from the diocese of Crema, was kidnapped on 17 September 2018 in Niger, in a mission about 150 km from the capital Niamey. The two hostages returned yesterday to Italy. In April, the Italian daily “Avvenire” had published a video in which the Lombard priest was imprisoned together with Chiacchio, of whom they had gone missing, perhaps kidnapped during a vacation. The identity of the two Italians was confirmed by a spokesman for the Malian government.

A note from the Italian Foreign Ministry affirms that the release was possible thanks to the precious work of the AISE and all the competent State apparatuses. Together with the collaboration of the Malian authorities. “The success of the operation, in addition to highlighting the professionalism, skills operational and intelligence reporting, also highlighted the excellent investigative work of the Italian judicial authority and the previous work done by the women and men of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the entire Crisis Unit of the Farnesina.” The Foreign Ministry of Rome continued, adding that “Once again, the fruitful, unified and synergistic interaction between the institutions of the State has proved to be successful, allowing us to achieve the primary objective of bringing our two compatriots back to their homeland.”